Arbitration between multiple wireless protocols in a wireless device

ABSTRACT

Arbitration between two wireless protocols in a wireless device. The wireless device may include first wireless protocol circuitry, configured to receive and process first signals according to a first wireless protocol and second wireless protocol circuitry, configured to receive and process second signals according to a second wireless protocol. The wireless device may also include coexistence circuitry. The coexistence circuitry may be configured to receive a request from the first wireless protocol circuitry to perform transmission or reception and arbitrate the requested transmission or reception between the first wireless protocol circuitry and the second wireless protocol circuitry. The decision may be based on current or future priority information, current configuration, or other factors. The coexistence circuitry (or other circuitry) may be configured to determine position of switches controlling antennas or transmission using shared or unshared antennas (or chains). The two wireless protocols may be WLAN and Bluetooth.

PRIORITY INFORMATION

This application claims benefit of priority of U.S. provisionalApplication Ser. No. 61/375,178 titled “Arbitration Between MultipleWireless Protocols in a Wireless Device” filed Aug. 19, 2010, whoseinventors were Qinghai Gao, Sundar G. Sankaran, Tevfik Yucek, andSusinder R. Gulasekaran, which is hereby incorporated by reference inits entirety as though fully and completely set forth herein.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Disclosure

The present invention relates generally to wireless communication, andmore particularly to a system and method for arbitration betweenmultiple wireless protocols in a system supporting multiple protocolsfor use in a wireless device.

2. Description of the Related Art

Wireless communication is being used for a plethora of applications,such as in laptops, cell phones, and other wireless communicationdevices (“wireless devices”). In fact, wireless communication isbecoming so widely used, it is common for wireless devices to be able tocommunicate using a plurality of different wireless communicationprotocols. Accordingly, it is common for a wireless device to havedifferent circuit portions that implement different wireless protocols.

However, when a wireless device implements multiple protocols, there maybe difficulties in performing transmission and/or reception, especiallywhen the two protocols share various hardware (e.g., gain elements,antennas, etc.). Therefore, improvements in wireless devices aredesired.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Various embodiments are described of a system (e.g., a wireless deviceor chip within a wireless device) and method for arbitrating between useof a first wireless protocol and a second wireless protocol.

In one embodiment, the system (e.g., for use in the wireless device) mayinclude first wireless protocol circuitry. The first wireless protocolcircuitry may be configured to receive and process first signalsaccording to a first wireless protocol. The first wireless protocolcircuitry may be configured to generate a request to perform atransmission or reception.

The system may similarly include second wireless protocol circuitry(e.g., on the same chip). The second wireless protocol circuitry may beconfigured to receive and process second signals according to a secondwireless protocol. Similar to above, the second wireless protocolcircuitry may be configured to generate a request to perform atransmission or reception.

The system may also include coexistence circuitry coupled to the firstwireless protocol circuitry and the second wireless protocol circuitry.The coexistence circuitry is configured to receive a request from thefirst wireless protocol circuitry to perform transmission or reception.In various embodiments, the coexistence circuitry may be comprised in orexternal to the first and/or second wireless protocol circuitry.

The coexistence circuitry may also be configured to determine priorityinformation for the first wireless protocol circuitry and the secondwireless protocol circuitry in response to the request. For example, thepriority information may indicate that the first wireless protocolcircuitry has priority (e.g., for a current or expected packet receptionor transmission according to the first wireless protocol), that thesecond wireless protocol circuitry has priority (e.g., for a current orexpected packet reception or transmission according to the secondwireless protocol), or that neither protocol has priority.

The coexistence circuitry may be configured to determine whether toallow the first wireless protocol circuitry to perform transmission orreception based on the priority information of the first wirelessprotocol circuitry, the priority information of the second wirelessprotocol circuitry, and/or current configuration information. Thepriority information may refer to priority of a current transmission orreception or priority of a future transmission or reception, as desired.Thus, the coexistence circuitry (or other circuitry) may also determinewhether to allow the first wireless protocol circuitry to performtransmission or reception based on the priority information of scheduledor predicted activity of the second wireless protocol circuitry (e.g.,rather than current priority information). Additionally, the currentconfiguration information may include a number of antennas in use by thewireless device.

For example, if the first wireless protocol has a higher priority thanthe second wireless protocol, the coexistence circuitry may beconfigured to allow the first wireless protocol circuitry to perform thetransmission. In another embodiment, if the first wireless protocolcircuitry has an equal priority to the second wireless protocolcircuitry, the coexistence circuitry may be configured to allow thefirst wireless protocol circuitry to perform the transmission orreception concurrently with a transmission or reception of the secondwireless protocol circuitry.

If antenna switching is employed by the device, the coexistencecircuitry (or other circuitry) may be configured to determine a positionof a switch based on various factors. For example, the position of theswitch may be determined based on the priority information of the firstwireless protocol, the priority information of the second wirelessprotocol circuitry, and/or current configuration information. The switchmay be configured to control access of the first wireless protocolcircuitry and the second wireless protocol circuitry to one or moreantennas.

The coexistence circuitry (or other circuitry) may also be configured todynamically choose between using all (or shared) antennas or chains oronly unshared antennas or chains. This embodiment may particularly applyto WLAN transmissions which may be capable of being downgraded fromusing shared antennas to only using unshared antennas.

In general, the first and second wireless protocols may be WLAN andBluetooth, although other protocols are envisioned. Additionally, notethat the determination of the first wireless protocol with respect tothe second is for exemplary purposes only and may be inverted, asdesired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained when thefollowing Detailed Description of the Embodiments is read in conjunctionwith the following drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrates exemplary wireless devices, according to oneembodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary system supporting multiplewireless protocols for use in a wireless device according to oneembodiment;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an analog portion of a Bluetooth-WLANimplementation of a system supporting multiple wireless protocols foruse in a wireless device according to one embodiment;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are block diagrams illustrating embodiments of aBluetooth-WLAN implementation of a system supporting multiple wirelessprotocols for use in a wireless device according to one embodiment;

FIGS. 5A-6 are diagrams illustrating various antenna configurations ofthe wireless device, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart diagram illustrating one embodiment of a methodfor arbitration between a first wireless protocol and a second wirelessprotocol based on priority information;

FIGS. 8-12 illustrate embodiments of arbitration between two wirelessprotocols according to the method of FIG. 7;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart diagram illustrating one embodiment of a methodfor arbitration between a first wireless protocol and a second wirelessprotocol based on future transmissions or receptions;

FIGS. 14A-16 illustrate embodiments of arbitration between two wirelessprotocols based on scheduled activity of one of the wireless protocols;

FIG. 17 is a flowchart diagram illustrating one embodiment of a methodfor determining switch positions for an antenna used by a first wirelessprotocol and a second wireless protocol;

FIG. 18-20 illustrate embodiments of arbitration between two wirelessprotocols using one or more switches;

FIGS. 21 and 22 are flowchart diagrams illustrating arbitration andchain selection when using two wireless protocols; and

FIG. 23 is a flowchart diagram illustrating one embodiment of a methodfor arbitrating between two wireless protocols.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way ofexample in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should beunderstood, however, that the drawings and detailed description theretoare not intended to limit the invention to the particular formdisclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spiritand scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE DISCLOSURE

Incorporation by Reference

The following applications are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety as though fully and completely set forth herein:

U.S. application Ser. No. 12/541,284, titled “Wireless Device Using AShared Gain Stage For Simultaneous Reception Of Multiple Protocols”,filed Aug. 14, 2009, whose inventor is Paul J. Husted;

U.S. application Ser. No. 12/323,338, titled “Wireless Device Using AShared Gain Stage For Simultaneous Reception Of Multiple Protocols”,filed Nov. 25, 2008, whose inventors are Paul J. Husted, Srenik Mehta,and Soner Ozgur; and

U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/116,239, titled “WirelessDevice Using A Shared Gain Stage For Simultaneous Reception Of MultipleProtocols”, filed Nov. 19, 2008, whose inventors are Paul J. Husted,Srenik Mehta, and Soner Ozgur.

Terms

The following is a glossary of terms used in the present application:

Memory Medium—Any of various types of memory devices or storage devices.The term “memory medium” is intended to include an installation medium,e.g., a CD-ROM, floppy disks 104, or tape device; a computer systemmemory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM,Rambus RAM, etc.; a non-volatile memory such as a Flash, magnetic media,e.g., a hard drive, or optical storage; registers, or other similartypes of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may comprise othertypes of memory as well or combinations thereof. In addition, the memorymedium may be located in a first computer in which the programs areexecuted, or may be located in a second different computer whichconnects to the first computer over a network, such as the Internet. Inthe latter instance, the second computer may provide programinstructions to the first computer for execution. The term “memorymedium” may include two or more memory mediums which may reside indifferent locations, e.g., in different computers that are connectedover a network.

Computer System—any of various types of computing or processing systems,including a personal computer system (PC), mainframe computer system,workstation, network appliance, Internet appliance, personal digitalassistant (PDA), television system, grid computing system, or otherdevice or combinations of devices. In general, the term “computersystem” can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combinationof devices) having at least one processor that executes instructionsfrom a memory medium.

Automatically—refers to an action or operation performed by a computersystem (e.g., software executed by the computer system) or device (e.g.,circuitry, programmable hardware elements, ASICs, etc.), without userinput directly specifying or performing the action or operation. Thusthe term “automatically” is in contrast to an operation being manuallyperformed or specified by the user, where the user provides input todirectly perform the operation. An automatic procedure may be initiatedby input provided by the user, but the subsequent actions that areperformed “automatically” are not specified by the user, i.e., are notperformed “manually”, where the user specifies each action to perform.For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting eachfield and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typinginformation, selecting check boxes, radio selections, etc.) is fillingout the form manually, even though the computer system must update theform in response to the user actions. The form may be automaticallyfilled out by the computer system where the computer system (e.g.,software executing on the computer system) analyzes the fields of theform and fills in the form without any user input specifying the answersto the fields. As indicated above, the user may invoke the automaticfilling of the form, but is not involved in the actual filling of theform (e.g., the user is not manually specifying answers to fields butrather they are being automatically completed). The presentspecification provides various

examples of operations being automatically performed in response toactions the user has taken.

FIGS. 1A and 1B—Exemplary Wireless Device

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate an exemplary wireless device 100, accordingto one embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1A, the wireless device 100 may be aportable computer or other mobile computing device. Alternatively, asshown in FIG. 1B, the wireless device 100 may be a cell phone or smartphone or other similar mobile device (which may also be classified as amobile computing device). However, it should be noted that otherwireless devices are envisioned, such as personal digital assistants,multimedia players (portable or stationary), routers, and/or othermobile devices or computing systems which are operable to use wirelesscommunication.

The wireless device 100 may be configured to perform wirelesscommunication using a first wireless protocol and/or a second wirelessprotocol. For example, the wireless device 100 may be configured toperform wireless communication using only the first wireless protocol,using only the second wireless protocol, or simultaneously using boththe first and second wireless protocol. The first and second wirelessprotocols may be any type of wireless protocol. In some embodiments, thefirst wireless protocol may be a wireless local area network (WLAN)protocol. Additionally, the second wireless protocol may be a shortrange wireless communication protocol, such as Bluetooth. As usedherein, a short range wireless protocol may refer to wireless protocolswhich support distances of up to 1 meter to 10 meters, or in higherpowered devices, 100 meters.

FIG. 2—Exemplary Block Diagram of the Wireless Device

As shown in FIG. 2, the wireless device 100 may include device circuitry120 (for performing various functions of the wireless device), firstwireless protocol circuitry (or logic) 130, and second wireless protocolcircuitry (or logic) 140. The various logic or circuitry describedherein may be may be implemented in any of various ways, such as analoglogic, digital logic, a processor and memory (such as a CPU, DSP,microcontroller, etc.), an ASIC (application specific integratedcircuit), an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or any combination ofthe above.

According to the various embodiments, the first and second wirelessprotocols may be any type of wireless protocol, albeit proprietary,well-known standard or less well-known standard, such as, withoutlimitation, 802.11 (WLAN), Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wireless USB, RFID,Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC), any combination thereof, orany other wireless protocol, as desired. As shown, the first wirelessprotocol circuitry 202 and the second wireless protocol circuitry 204may be able to communicate with each other, e.g., using a communicationinterface.

The wireless device 100 may have at least input (e.g., antenna(s)) forwirelessly receiving and/or transmitting signals. The first and secondwireless protocol circuitries 130 and 140 may enable the wireless device100 to transmit and/or receive wireless signals according to multiplewireless protocols. For example, the first wireless protocol circuitry130 may enable reception, transmission, and processing of signalsaccording to a first wireless protocol, and the second wireless protocolcircuitry 140 may enable reception, transmission, and processing ofsignals according to a second wireless protocol. In one exemplaryembodiment, the first wireless protocol circuitry 130 may be WLANcircuitry 130 and the second wireless protocol circuitry 140 may beBluetooth circuitry 140. The WLAN circuitry 130 and the Bluetooth 140circuitry may be co-located, e.g., may be located in the same wirelessdevice 100.

The first wireless protocol circuitry 130 may be comprised on a firstchip, and the second wireless protocol circuitry 140 may be comprised ona second chip. As used herein, the term “chip” has the full extent ofits ordinary meaning, and includes an electronic device, e.g., asemiconductor device, that may be implemented in any of the waysdescribed above for the first wireless protocol circuitry 130 and thesecond wireless protocol circuitry 140. In various embodiments, thecircuitry 130 and 140 may be on different chips or on the same chip, asdesired.

In one embodiment, the wireless device 100 may include various sharedelements (e.g., a shared gain element) that may be used by both thefirst wireless protocol circuitry 130 and the second wireless protocolcircuitry 140. The term “shared gain element” refers to a gain element(such as an amplifier, e.g., an LNA or PA, gain stage, etc.) thatamplifies signals such that portions of the amplified signals areprovided to either one of the first and second wireless protocolcircuitry 130 and 140 (or 140, FIGS. 4 and 5), respectively. Asdescribed below, one or more antennas may also be shared by the firstand second wireless protocol circuitry. The device 100 may include logic(e.g., in the device circuitry 120, the Bluetooth circuitry 140, theWLAN circuitry 130, or otherwise) for arbitrating reception andtransmission between the first and second wireless protocol circuitry,e.g., based on current or future configuration information (e.g.,priority, number of antennas, scheduled transmissions or receptions,predicted transmissions or receptions, etc.).

Additionally, the wireless device 100 (e.g., the device circuitry 120)may further include one or more memory mediums and processors forimplementing various functionality. The wireless device 100 may operateas described herein.

FIG. 3—Block Diagram of a System Implementing Two Wireless Protocols

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system thatimplements two wireless protocols. While the system of FIG. 3 is shownwith the wireless protocols Bluetooth and WLAN, it may also beapplicable to other wireless protocols, such as those listed above,among others. The system of FIG. 3 may be implemented as a portion orchip (e.g., a separate or distinct chip) that is included in thewireless device 100, e.g., for implementing the first and secondprotocols on the wireless device. The two wireless protocols may sharevarious circuitry internal to the system of FIG. 3 (e.g., variousamplifiers, such as PAs or LNAs) or hardware external to the system ofFIG. 3 (e.g., antenna(s) of the wireless device 100.

Currently, Bluetooth and WLAN both operate in the same 2.4 GHzunlicensed band. Although BT's adaptive frequency hopping mitigates thisproblem, the front end may still be saturated. As a result, MAC levelarbitration and scheduling functionality, as described herein, isbeneficial. With both WLAN and BT on the same chip (or die), there areopportunities to make them both work more efficiently and achieve bettercoexistence.

As shown, the BT MCI 310 may provide MCI_BT_CLK (clock) and MCI_BT_DAT(data) to the WLAN MCI 320 and may receive the MCI_WL_CLK (clock) andMCI_WL_DAT (data) from the WLAN MCI 320.

The WLAN MCI 320 may provide schd_hdr and AHB signals to schedule tablemanagement block 330. The WLAN MCI 320 may also sendlna_in_us/lna_in_locked/lna_setting and freeze_lna signals to thebaseband 380. The WLAN MCI 320 may provide bt_tx_req, bt_rx_req,bt_priority, and wl_wak_req to the arbitration (or coexistence) block350. The WLAN MCI 320 may receive bt_tx_abort, bt_rx_abort, and wl_sleepsignals from the arbitration block 350.

Schedule table management block 330 may provide next_start_time,next_stop_time, next_priority, next_txrx, next_txpwr signals toarbitration block 350.

Arbitration block 350 may include WLAN tx request arbitration 352, WLANrx request arbitration 354, BT tx request arbitration 356, and BT rxrequest arbitration 358. Arbitration block 350 may provide wl_tx_abort,wl_tx_(—)1chain, wl_force_wait_ba, wl_rx_abort, wl_rx_(—)1 chain signalsto MAC 370 and may receive wl_tx_req, wl_rx_req, wl_in_tx, wl_in_rx,wl_wait_beacon, wl_wait_ack, and wl_packet duration signals from MAC370. Arbitration block 350 may provide bt_ant, wlan_bt_priority,deweight_rx, reduce_txpwr, txpwr_delta, bt_in_tx, and bt_in_rx signalsto baseband 380.

Thus, in the embodiment, whenever one or more of the first or secondwireless protocol circuitry (e.g., the BT or WLAN circuitry) needs totransmit or receive, it may send a request to the coexistence logic(e.g., circuitry, engine, etc.) 350. The request may indicate thepriority of the request and/or other information. The coexistencecircuitry may make a decision based on various factors, e.g., currentand future activities (e.g., predicted or known future activities), asshown in FIG. 3. For example, in some instances (e.g., SCO BT profiles),the traffic may be predictable, and that information may also taken intoaccount by the coexistence logic.

In some embodiments, using one or more shared PAs and/or shared LNAs,the two wireless protocols (e.g., WLAN and BT) can transmit and receivesimultaneously. In one embodiment, the wireless protocols may be givensame priority when concurrent transmissions are possible. Moreover, someplatforms can only support one or two antennas. In that case, BT andWLAN may have to share one antenna. Further, switching between antennas,e.g., using an external switch, may be needed. The control of theexternal switch may also be determined by the coexistence logic. Thearbitration logic 350 (or other logic) may also select the number ofchains to use (e.g., shared or unshared chains). The coexistence logicin general, and with respect the SPDT control and chain control aredescribed in more detail below. As used herein, “coexistence logic” or“coexistence circuitry” refers to logic or circuitry that enables awireless device to use multiple communication protocols.

Note that while the above example (and other examples herein) utilizesBluetooth and WLAN as the two wireless protocols, they may be replacedwith any two appropriate wireless protocols, as desired.

FIGS. 4A and 4B—Exemplary Wireless Protocol Circuit Block Diagram

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate embodiments an analog portion of aBluetooth-WLAN implementation of a system 400 supporting multiplewireless protocols for use in the wireless device 100. As noted above,this exemplary embodiment is illustrative of one possible implementationof this disclosure, and is not intended to be limiting to the disclosureas a whole. Implementations directed to different wireless protocols areenvisioned, as are implementations directed to different systemarchitectures. Further description and examples of possible systemarchitectures implementing a common gain element are provided in U.S.application Ser. No. 12/541,284 and U.S. application Ser. No.12/323,338, which are incorporated by reference above. Numerous otherpossible variations and modifications will be apparent to those of skillin the art having the benefit of this disclosure, and should beconsidered within the scope of this disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the system 400 may include a coupling 408 forreceiving/sending signals (e.g., from/to an antenna such as antenna410). When signals are being received, the signals may be passed to thecommon gain element 406. As shown, the common gain element 406 may be alow noise amplifier (LNA). The gain setting of the LNA 406 may becontrolled by the common automatic gain control (AGC) logic 416, whichmay be controlled by either the Bluetooth (BT) AGC 414 or the WLAN AGC412 depending on the circumstances. The mechanism for determiningwhether the Bluetooth AGC 414 or the WLAN AGC 412 controls the gainsetting of the common gain element 406 may be any of a variety ofmechanism. The LNA 406 may amplify the received signals according to itsgain setting, after which the signals may be split out to the Bluetoothcircuitry 404 and the WLAN circuitry 402. It should be noted that whilethe LNA 406 is shown as being located within the WLAN circuitry 402, itmay in some embodiments be physically located in closer proximity to theWLAN circuitry 402 than to the Bluetooth circuitry 404, LNA 406 maylogically be common to both the Bluetooth circuitry 404 and the WLANcircuitry 402.

After being out split to the Bluetooth circuitry 404 and the WLANcircuitry 402, the received signals may be processed by the respectivecircuitries. This may include one or more analog processing steps byvarious analog components of the respective circuitries 402, 404, suchas downconversion to a baseband signal (e.g., using oscillators andmixers, as shown) and/or further gain control (e.g., using one or moreamplifiers, as shown, to account for differences in strength betweenBluetooth components of received signals and WLAN components of receivedsignals). Various alternative or additional analog components and/oranalog processing steps are also contemplated. Following any such analogprocessing, the received signals may be converted to digital signals byeach circuitry's respective analog-to-digital converter and passed todigital portions 420, 422 of the respective circuitries 402, 404 forprocessing according to the respective protocols.

It should be noted that in some embodiments, one or both of the wirelessprotocol circuitries may include multiple receive/transmit paths. Forexample, as shown, the WLAN might have multiple receive/transmit pathscorresponding to different bandwidths on which the WLAN can operate.Thus, the WLAN circuitry might include one transmit/receive path for the2.4 GHz range, and one transmit/receive path for the 5 GHz range. Inthis case, the common gain element 406 may be common to the 2.4 GHZ pathof the WLAN and to the Bluetooth (which may also operate at 2.4 GHz),while the 5 GHz path of the WLAN may not share any elements with theBluetooth path. As another example, the WLAN may include multipletransmit/receive paths operating in the same frequency band (to supportMIMO). In this case, only one chain may share the LNA 406, and the otherchain(s) may not share the LNA 406. Additionally, a plurality of chains(e.g., 2, 3, 4, etc.) are envisioned.

FIG. 4B illustrates a more generic block diagram of the analog portionof FIG. 4A and may operate in a similar fashion. In some embodiments,the analog front-end shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B may be used with any ofvarious system architectures described herein.

FIGS. 5A-5E and 6—Various Antenna Configurations

FIGS. 5A-5E illustrate various antenna configurations that may be usedby the wireless device 100. For example, the combo chip 500 mayimplement any of various protocols (e.g., WLAN and Bluetooth) and may beimplemented via the systems of FIGS. 3 and 4 (among other possibilitiesor variations thereon). In one embodiment, the combo chip 500 may beconfigured to operate with any of the antenna configurations shown(e.g., without modification or with only a configuration change), amongother possibilities. Thus, the combo chip 500 may support wirelessdevices with varying numbers of antennas, e.g., according to thewireless device manufacturer's needs.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the combo chip 500 may operate with three antennas.Each antenna may be coupled to each portion of the combo chip (e.g., theBT portion, the first WLAN portion, and the second WLAN portion of FIGS.4A and 4B).

As shown in FIG. 5B, the combo chip 500 may operate with two antennas.In this embodiment, the two antennas may be coupled to two differentportions of the combo chip 500 (e.g., the WLAN portions, althoughsignals of the first WLAN portion may also be shared by the BT portionif they are coupled in the manner of FIG. 4A or 4B.

As shown in FIG. 5C, the combo chip 500 may operate with two antennas,but one of the antennas may be shared among circuitry (e.g., theBluetooth and WLAN circuitry of FIG. 4) utilizing a switch (e.g., anSPDT (single pole, double throw) switch). The configuration of theswitch may be altered according to various logic and based on receptionand transmission configurations, as described below.

As shown in FIG. 5D, the combo chip 500 may operate with one antenna.

As shown in FIG. 5E, the combo chip 500 may operate with one antenna,shared between two circuit portions via a switch (e.g., an SPDT switch).

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary table of configurations. As shown, inone particular embodiment, there are 11 different configurations whichmay be used:

Five configurations may be used for a single antenna (varying use ofSPDT, sharing of LNA, and sharing of PA). More particularly, in thesingle antenna case, if a switch is not used, the LNA and PA may beshared. In case 2, a switch is used and the amplifiers are not shared.In case 3, a switch is used, the LNA is shared, and the PA is notshared. In case 4, a switch is used, the LNA is not shared, and the PAis shared. In case 5, a switch is used and the LNA and PA are bothshared.

Five configurations may be used for two antennas (varying use of SPDT,sharing of LNA, and sharing of PA). More particularly, in case 6, aswitch is not used and the LNA and PA are shared. In case 7, a switch isused and the amplifiers are not shared. In case 8, a switch is used, theLNA is shared, and the PA is not shared. In case 9, a switch is used,the LNA is not shared, and the PA is shared. In case 10, a switch isused and the LNA and PA are both shared.

Finally, there is one configuration for three antennas, where no switchis used and the amplifiers are not shared (since each path has its owntransmit/receive antenna, sharing and switching is not necessary).Further configurations are envisioned, e.g., for variations in thediagrams of FIGS. 4A-5E (e.g., with more or less pathways, differentantenna configurations, etc.). Note that in configurations above, whenthe PA and/or LNA is shared, the system may be capable of transmittingand receiving simultaneously (e.g., using the same chain or antenna).

FIG. 7—Arbitrating Between Wireless Protocols Using Current PriorityInformation

FIG. 7 is a flowchart diagram illustrating one embodiment of a methodfor arbitrating between two wireless protocols based on current priorityinformation. The method may be implemented in a system supportingmultiple wireless protocols for use in a wireless device, such as any ofthe systems shown in the various figures and described with respectthereto. In some embodiments (such as might be implemented in thesystems shown above and described above with respect thereto), thewireless protocols may be WLAN and Bluetooth (BT). The wirelessprotocols may alternatively be other wireless protocols, if desired. Themethod elements may be modified, performed in a different order,removed, etc., as desired.

In 702, a request may be received from first wireless protocol circuitryto perform a transmission or reception. In one embodiment, the requestmay be received by coexistence logic or circuitry, such as thearbitration logic 350; however, the coexistence logic may be separatefrom or integrated with the first wireless protocol circuitry or secondwireless protocol circuitry.

In 704, current priority information of the first wireless protocolcircuitry and the second wireless protocol circuitry may be determined.In one embodiment, the priority information may be determined bycoexistence logic or by other logic, as desired. For example, thepriority information may involve determining whether concurrenttransmission is possible (e.g., if so, resulting in equal priority). Thepriority information may be assigned according to descriptions describedin the patent applications incorporated by reference above.

The priority information may indicate whether the first wirelessprotocol circuitry should get priority for the requested transmission orreception or if the second wireless protocol circuitry should getpriority for its own transmission or reception. In some embodiments,when the priority information indicates equal priority between the firstwireless protocol circuitry and the second wireless protocol circuitry,the two wireless protocol circuitries may be able to performtransmission and reception concurrently. In general, the priorityinformation associated with each protocol circuitry may be for thecircuitry in general or for specific transmissions or receptions, asdesired.

In 706, a current state of the second wireless protocol circuitry may bedetermined. For example, the current state may be “idle” or “searching”(where it is not in an active transmission or reception), transmission,or reception, although other states may be possible.

In 708, the method may determine whether to allow the first wirelessprotocol circuitry to perform the transmission or reception based on thepriority information of the first and second wireless protocol circuitryand the current state of the second wireless protocol circuitry. Forexample, if the first wireless protocol circuitry has a higher priority(or simply priority over) the second wireless protocol circuitry, thenthe method (e.g., the coexistence circuitry) may allow the firstwireless protocol circuitry to perform the transmission or reception.Conversely, if the second wireless protocol circuitry has higherpriority than the first wireless protocol circuitry, then the method maynot allow (e.g., may delay) the first wireless protocol circuitry toperform the transmission or reception. If the two wireless protocolcircuitries have equal priority, then the first wireless protocolcircuitry may be allowed to perform the transmission or reception (e.g.,concurrently with transmission or reception of the second wirelessprotocol circuitry).

As indicated, the determination of whether to allow the requestedtransmission or reception may also be based on the state of the secondwireless protocol circuitry. For example, if the current state of thesecond wireless protocol circuitry is “idle” or “searching”, then thefirst wireless protocol circuitry may be allowed to perform thetransmission or reception regardless of priority. However, where thestate is “transmission” or “reception”, the priority information may beused to determine whether to allow the transmission or reception, asindicated above. Note that the outcome of the decision may be differentdepending on whether the request is a transmission request or areception request, and whether the current state is “transmission” or“reception”. Further, it should be noted that the assignment of prioritymay be based on the particular request (e.g., transmission or reception)and the state of the second wireless protocol, although, in otherembodiments, this may not be the case.

The determination of whether to allow the requested transmission orreception may be based on further information, such as configurationinformation. For example, the configuration information may relate tothe number of antennas that are available for use by the first andsecond wireless protocol circuitry (e.g., as shown in FIGS. 5A-5E andFIG. 6). For example, if there is an antenna for each wireless protocolcircuitry, the requested transmission or reception may be allowedregardless of state and/or priority information (although in someembodiments, the priority information may still matter for propertransmission or reception). However, where the two wireless protocolcircuitries share a common antenna, the choice may be determined asdescribed above. The configuration information may also indicate whetherthe two wireless protocols share a gain element (e.g., an LNA and/or aPA), and the determination may be based on whether the gain element(s)are shared. The determination may also depend on whether shared orunshared antennas (or chains) are used by either the requestedtransmission or reception or a transmission or reception by the secondwireless circuitry.

Additionally, as described with regard to FIGS. 13-16, the determinationof whether to allow the requested transmission or reception may also bebased on future transmission or receptions of the second wirelessprotocol circuitry. The method may also determine whether to use sharedor unshared antennas or chains to perform a transmission or reception aswell as switch positions for antennas, as described in FIGS. 17-22.

Finally, more details on one embodiment for the determination of whetherto allow the requested transmission or reception is provided withrespect to FIGS. 8-12 below.

FIGS. 8-12—Exemplary Arbitration Using Current Priority Information

FIGS. 8-12 illustrate specific embodiments of the arbitration betweentwo wireless protocols of FIG. 7. More particularly, in theseembodiments, the arbitration is also performed according to the currentconfiguration of the wireless device (such as those described above).Similar to above, the following section is described with respect toBluetooth and WLAN, but may be modified to be any two wireless protocols(e.g., including the inverse where WLAN is replaced with Bluetooth).

More particularly, FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of arbitration whenBluetooth is transmitting or will transmit. More particularly, when BTwants to transmit, it may send a request to the coexistence engine. Thecoexistence logic may handle the request according to the table of FIG.8. As shown in the table:

WLAN Tx (transmission) may be aborted if high priority BT Tx happens;

BT starts transmit if BT has higher priority than WLAN;

BT may not transmit if BT has lower priority than WLAN;

If equal priority, BT may tx (e.g., simultaneously if the FCC limit isnot violated);

With equal priority, if WLAN is receiving single stream frame in the2-antenna case, BT may start transmission and WLAN may de-weight.

Note that “X” indicates any priority or configuration.

FIG. 9 is an exemplary flow chart for Bluetooth transmission in a 3antenna case. As shown, if the WLAN state is Tx, then the WLAN and BTpriority may be compared. If BT priority is greater or equal to WLAN,then BT Tx may occur. Otherwise, BT Tx may be delayed. The decision issimilarly made for WLAN state “Search” and “Rx”.

FIG. 10 illustrates one embodiment of arbitration for a BT transmissionrequest when WLAN is or will transmit (e.g., for a 3 antennaconfiguration). As shown, if BT has priority or is equal to WLANpriority, the BT transmission may begin, otherwise the BT transmissionmay be delayed.

FIG. 11 illustrates one embodiment of arbitration when BT is or willreceive. More particularly, as shown in the table:

When high priority BT reception starts, WLAN may abort transmission;

With equal priority, if WLAN is transmitting, may do wlan_Tx/bt_Rxsimultaneously;

For Rx/Rx with equal priority, if WLAN is receiving single-stream rateframe, BT may start receiving and WLAN will do de-weight.

Finally, FIG. 12 illustrates one embodiment of arbitration when WLAN isor will receive. More particularly, as shown in the table:

Only WLAN Ack and Beacon receive may be predicted;

BT tx may be aborted if high-priority WLAN Rx starts.

Note that the tables of FIGS. 8, 10, 11, and 12 include SPDT switchpositions. The positions may apply to the embodiments of FIGS. 17-20.

FIG. 13—Arbitrating Between Wireless Protocols Using Future Information

FIG. 13 is a flowchart diagram illustrating one embodiment of a methodfor arbitrating between two wireless protocols based on futureinformation. The method may be implemented in a system supportingmultiple wireless protocols for use in a wireless device, such as any ofthe systems shown in the various figures and described with respectthereto. In some embodiments (such as might be implemented in thesystems shown above and described above with respect thereto), thewireless protocols may be WLAN and Bluetooth (BT). The wirelessprotocols may alternatively be other wireless protocols, if desired. Themethod elements may be modified, performed in a different order,removed, etc., as desired.

In 1302, similar to 702 above, a request may be received from the firstwireless protocol circuitry to perform a transmission or reception.

In 1304, the method may determine whether the requested transmission orreception will conflict with a future transmission or reception. Forexample, in one embodiment, the method may compare the differencebetween the current time (or time for the requested transmission orreception) with the scheduled time for the future transmission orreception with a threshold time. If the difference is above thethreshold, there may not be a conflict; however, if the difference isbelow the threshold, there will be a conflict, and a decision may needto be made regarding the requested transmission or reception withrespect to the future transmission or reception.

The future transmission or reception by the second wireless protocolcircuitry may be any known or predicted transmission or reception. Forexample, there may be a table storing scheduled transmission orreceptions for the second wireless protocol circuitries (such asscheduled Bluetooth transmissions, e.g., for SCO, or expected WLANreceptions, e.g., an ack).

In 1306, if there will be a conflict, current priority information forthe first wireless protocol circuitry, future priority information forthe second wireless protocol circuitry, and future state information ofthe second wireless protocol circuitry may be determined.

In 1308, the method may determine whether to allow the first wirelessprotocol circuitry to perform the transmission or reception based on thepriority information and state of the first and second wireless protocolcircuitry. 1308 may generally be performed in the same manner as 708above. Note that all of the embodiments related to making decisionsregarding configurations and further information also apply to 1308.

More details on one embodiment for the determination of whether to allowthe requested transmission or reception is provided with respect toFIGS. 14A-16 below.

FIGS. 14A-16—Arbitration Using Scheduling Information

FIGS. 14A-16 illustrate embodiments of arbitration using schedulinginformation of one of the wireless protocols according to the method ofFIG. 13. Similar to above, the following section is described withrespect to Bluetooth and WLAN, but may be modified to be any twowireless protocols (e.g., including the inverse where WLAN is replacedwith Bluetooth).

As indicated above, when BT event schedule is available to thecoexistence engine, WLAN can make a decision based on the next BT eventscheduled. This information together with current BT status may be usedfor scheduling WLAN events.

The time_to_next_BT parameter is the difference between current time andfirst scheduled BT event. When future BT activity has high priority,WLAN can still start transmit when If time_to_next_BT>threshold. Thisthreshold relationship is shown in FIG. 14A. More particularly, in FIG.14A, the future BT packet is expected in less than the threshold amount,so there is a predicted conflict.

FIG. 15 is a table illustrating one embodiment of arbitration usingscheduled BT activity. In most cases, if WLAN does not have priority andthe time to next BT is greater than the threshold, the WLAN can receiveor transmit, although other cases are also shown in the table. Similarto above, this table includes switch positions, which may apply to theembodiments of FIGS. 17-20.

FIG. 16 illustrates the case where, after a WLAN aborted transmission,WLAN transmitter may still wait for Block Ack since part of thesubframes may have been received correctly by the intended receiver.

Similar embodiments apply to FIG. 14B with respect to BT reception ortransmission with a scheduled upcoming WLAN packet. As shown in thisFigure, the future WLAN packet is expected in less than the thresholdtime, so there is a predicted conflict.

Note that various embodiment described above relating to scheduledtransmissions may also apply to predicted transmissions or receptions(e.g., based on prior history). Thus, even if future transmissions orreceptions are not scheduled, they may be predicted, and thosepredictions may be used similar to scheduled transmission or receptionsas described in embodiments above.

FIG. 17—Switch Position Selection for Two Wireless Protocols Sharing anAntenna

FIG. 17 is a flowchart diagram illustrating one embodiment of a methodfor selecting a switch position for an antenna for performingtransmission or reception. The method may be implemented in a systemsupporting multiple wireless protocols for use in a wireless device,such as any of the systems shown in the various figures and describedwith respect thereto. In some embodiments (such as might be implementedin the systems shown above and described above with respect thereto),the wireless protocols may be WLAN and Bluetooth (BT). The wirelessprotocols may alternatively be other wireless protocols, if desired. Themethod elements may be modified, performed in a different order,removed, etc., as desired.

In 1702, a request to perform a transmission or reception may bereceived from the first wireless protocol circuitry, similar to 702above.

In 1704, priority information of the first wireless protocol circuitryand the second wireless protocol circuitry may be determined, similar to704 and/or 1306 above. In other words, the priority information of thesecond wireless protocol may be current or future priority information,as desired.

In 1706, a state of the second wireless protocol circuitry may bedetermined, similar to 706 and/or 1306 above. In other words, the stateof the second wireless protocol circuitry may be current or future stateinformation, as desired.

In 1708, a position of a switch used to share one or more antennas maybe determined based on the priority information and the state. Moreparticularly, in one embodiment, the method of FIG. 17 may particularapply to the embodiments of 5C and 5E. However, they may also apply toother embodiments that involve antenna sharing via a switch (e.g., wherethere is only one chain for one of the wireless protocols, or multiplechains, as desired). In one embodiment, the switch may be a SPDT switch,although other switches are envisioned.

The position of the switch may be based on the priority informationand/or the state information, or alternatively, may be based on theoutcome of the decision on the requested transmission or reception. Inone embodiment a table may be used to determine a desired switchposition of the switch for performing the requested transmission orreception. The table may be based on current configuration information,such as whether various gain element(s) are shared between the first andsecond wireless protocol circuitries. In general, the desired switchposition may be used depending on the priority information, stateinformation, and/or further information. However, the desired switchposition may be used only if the first wireless protocol circuitry haspriority. Similarly, the current switch position may be overridden basedon the priority information, state information, and/or furtherinformation. One embodiment of the logic flow of this decision as wellas the table is provided below regarding FIGS. 17-20.

Additionally, it should be noted that the first wireless protocolcircuitry and the second wireless protocol circuitry may have a sharedpathway other than the antenna shared via the switch (e.g., by sharing again element). Accordingly, the first wireless protocol circuitry may beable to perform the requested transmission or reception even when theswitch position is not changed to the ideal position for the requestedtransmission or reception. Thus, the first wireless protocol circuitrymay be configured to perform the requested transmission or receptionusing the shared pathway even when the antenna position is not changed.

In one embodiment, the position of the switch may follow from either ofthe methods of FIGS. 7 and 13. The method of FIG. 17 may be performed bythe coexistence circuitry or by other circuitry as desired. Thecircuitry may be part of the first and/or second wireless protocolcircuitry, the coexistence circuitry, and/or separate from either orboth, as desired.

FIGS. 18-20—Switch Selection According to the Method of FIG. 17

FIGS. 18-20 describe embodiments of switch selection according to themethod of FIG. 17. Similar to above, the following section is describedwith respect to Bluetooth and WLAN, but may be modified to be any twowireless protocols (e.g., including the inverse where WLAN is replacedwith Bluetooth). Additionally, note that various tables described abovealso include the position of an exemplary switch, and may thus apply tothese embodiments.

As shown and described in the various configurations above, a WLAN andBT combo chip may have a switch (e.g., an external SPDT (Single Pole,Double Throw) switch) for one-antenna configurations and/or two-antennaconfigurations, e.g., for the sake of limited space or cost reduction.

FIG. 18 illustrates one embodiment of switch control logic forcontrolling an SPDT switch. As shown in this Figure, the SPDT controllogic may include of the following components:

The priority arbitration logic may determine whether the switch will befor BT, WLAN, or No-change;

A look-up-table (LUT) (shown in FIG. 19) may be used to find thepreferred switch position for BT-Tx and BT_Rx: If PA is shared,btTxSwitchPos=WLAN; Else btTxSwitchPos=BT; If LNA is shared,btRxSwitchPos=WLAN; and Else btRxSwitchPos=BT.

An AND logic may take inputs from the BT Priority signal and the outcomeof the LUT; and

Hold logic may be used to hold the switch position when the Hold signalis asserted.

The following provides one embodiment of the algorithm for the switcharbitration logic:

When WLAN is asleep/inactive: BT_priority=1 and Hold=0;

When WLAN is awake:

At the pos edge of BT Tx, BT_priority=1 and Hold=0;

At the pos edge of WLAN Tx, if WLAN is going to use the shared chain forthis transmission, BT_priority=0 and Hold=0;

At the pos edge of BT Rx: a) if BT has high priority, BT_priority=1 andHold=0; b) else if WLAN has two antennas and is transmitting one chain,BT_priority=1 and Hold=0; c) else if WLAN has two antennas and isreceiving single stream, BT_priority=1 and Hold=0; d) else if WLAN is insearch state and has equal priority with BT, BT_priority=1 and Hold=0;and e) else, Hold=1.

At the pos edge of WLAN Rx, Hold=1;

At the neg edge of BT Tx/Rx, if WLAN is not in active Rx, BT_priority=0and Hold=0; and

At the neg edge of WLAN Tx/Rx, if BT is not in active Tx/Rx,BT_priority=0 and Hold=0;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart diagram illustrating the algorithm describedabove at the positive edge of a BT reception.

FIG. 21—Shared or Unshared Antenna Selection for Transmission orReception

FIG. 21 illustrates an embodiment of selection of antennas (e.g., sharedor unshared) for transmission or reception by one of the wirelessprotocols. This method may be particularly applicable to requested WLANtransmissions. The method may be implemented in a system supportingmultiple wireless protocols for use in a wireless device, such as any ofthe systems shown in the various figures and described with respectthereto. In some embodiments (such as might be implemented in thesystems shown above and described above with respect thereto), thewireless protocols may be WLAN and Bluetooth (BT). The wirelessprotocols may alternatively be other wireless protocols, if desired. Themethod elements may be modified, performed in a different order,removed, etc., as desired.

In 2102, a request to perform transmission or reception may be receivedfrom the first wireless protocol circuitry similar to 702 above.

In 2104, the method (e.g., coexistence logic or other logic) maydetermine if the second wireless protocol circuitry is or will perform acurrent or future transmission or reception, similar to 706 and 708 or1304. Thus, the method may determine if there is a current conflict orfuture conflict with the requested transmission or reception withrespect to the second wireless protocol circuitry.

In 2106, the method (e.g., coexistence logic or other logic) maydetermine if the first wireless protocol circuitry is able to performthe current or future transmission or reception using one or moreunshared antennas without using one or more shared antennas. Moreparticularly, the first wireless protocol circuitry and the secondwireless protocol circuitry may share the one or more shared antennas,but the first wireless protocol circuitry may have access to one or moreantennas that are not shared. Thus, the first wireless protocolcircuitry may be configured to use shared and/or unshared antennas,depending on a transmission or reception mode. In some embodiments, thedetermination may be based on whether a required number of chains forthe requested transmission or reception is greater than the number ofavailable unshared chains. If this is the case, the determination may befurther based on whether the requested transmission or reception couldbe performed with a lesser number of streams (until it is less than orequal to the number of unshared antenna(s)).

Note that 2106 may be performed if either the second wireless protocolcircuitry is performing a transmission or reception or if the requestedtransmission or reception will conflict with the future transmission orreception of the second wireless protocol circuitry. Specificembodiments of this determination are provided below.

In 2108, the method may determine whether to allow the first wirelessprotocol circuitry to perform the requested transmission or receptionbased on 2106. For example, if there is a current or future conflictwith the second wireless protocol circuitry and if the method determinesthat the requested transmission or reception can be performed using onlyunshared chains, then the first wireless protocol circuitry may bepermitted to perform the requested transmission or reception using onlythe unshared chains. If there is not a conflict, then the first wirelessprotocol may also be permitted to perform the requested transmission orreception.

Additionally, similar to embodiments above, the determination of 2108may also be based on priority information of the wireless protocolcircuitry, current or future priority information of the second wirelessprotocol circuitry, a current or future state of the second wirelessprotocol circuitry, and/or further information, such as configurationinformation. For example, where the first wireless protocol is not ableto only use unshared chains, the determination may be similar to thatdescribed in 708 and/or 1308, depending on the case of the conflict.

Note that while the above method assumes a request from the firstwireless protocol circuitry and the determination of whether unsharedantennas (or chains) is performed with respect to the first wirelessprotocol circuitry, the method may be inverted such that the request isreceived from the first wireless protocol circuitry, and thedetermination may be whether the second wireless protocol can perform acurrent or future transmission or reception using unshared antennasrather than shared antennas. Thus, instead of changing the method of thetransmission or reception of the first wireless protocol circuitry, themethod of transmission or reception of the second wireless protocolcircuitry may be changed. Additionally, in this embodiment, the secondwireless protocol circuitry is capable of using unshared antennas toperform a transmission or reception.

FIG. 22—Chain Selection According to the Method of FIG. 21

The following provides details on one embodiment of the method of FIG.21 and is not meant to limit the scope of the corresponding embodiments.For example, while the below only discusses WLAN transmission, furtherprotocols and embodiments are envisioned. As used herein, the term“chain” may generally refer to a transmission or reception pathway. Ashared or unshared chain may simply refer to a shared or unsharedantenna (as in the method of FIG. 21), or may refer to more of thetransmission or reception pathway (e.g., including a shared gain elementand corresponding pathway).

In combo BT+WLAN chips with shared chain configuration(s), sometimes itis possible to use only unshared chain(s) for transmission. For example,it may be possible if data is transmitted using an MCS rate where numberof streams is smaller than number of unshared chains or antennas (e.g.,for single-stream MCS rates). Transmitting using only unshared chain(s)has the following advantages:

If BT is in receive or an Rx event is expected, by not using sharedchain for WLAN transmission, the interference to the received (orexpected) BT packet from WLAN transmission may be minimized. Thisbenefit increases with increasing isolation between the shared chain andunshared chain(s).

If BT is currently transmitting or a Tx event is expected, no transmitpower backup may be needed in the WLAN side as BT and WLAN signals maybe transmitted from different antennas.

Single chain transmission may only be possible for single streampackets. In MIMO systems, the number of antennas (or chains) may belarger than number of transmit streams. Deciding on whether to useshared chain or not can be done depending on the queued transmitpackets, current BT state, and expected BT behavior. For MCS rates thatdos not require a shared chain to be used (such as an ACK), transmissionusing only unshared chains can be employed if BT is currently active ora BT event it expected using the BT scheduling table. For higher MCSrates, which require a shared chain as well, WLAN may be able drop tolower stream rate to transmit on the unshared chain(s), e.g., in thecase of equal priority. In this case, the rate adaptation algorithm maybe automatically adapted to favor MCS rates which can be transmittedusing only unshared chain(s) when BT is active.

FIG. 22 illustrates one embodiment of chain selection. Moreparticularly, as shown, during or prior to WLAN Tx, the number ofstreams may be compared to the number of unshared chains. If the numberof streams are greater, it may be determined if a lower MCS may be used.If so, the MCS may be lowered. If not, the transmit may occur using allchains (which may result in a conflict with a current or future BTtransmission or reception, which may be handled as described above).However, if the number of streams are not greater, and BT is in Tx orRx, transmission may occur only using unshared chains, thus allowing theBT activity to occur without delay, e.g., concurrently. If BT is not inTx or Rx, it may be determined if BT activity is expected (e.g., using aBT scheduling table). If so, transmission may occur using only unsharedchains, thus allowing the future BT activity to occur without delay,e.g., concurrently. If not, transmission may occur using all chains,e.g., after reaching a decision, as described in FIGS. 7 and 13.

Note that various embodiment described above relating to scheduledtransmissions may also apply to predicted transmissions or receptions(e.g., based on prior history). Thus, even if future transmissions orreceptions are not scheduled, they may be predicted, and thosepredictions may be used similar to scheduled transmission or receptionsas described in embodiments above.

FIG. 23—Exemplary Method for Arbitration

FIG. 23 is a flowchart diagram illustrating one embodiment of a methodfor arbitrating between two wireless protocols. The method may beimplemented in a system supporting multiple wireless protocols for usein a wireless device, such as any of the systems shown in the variousfigures and described with respect thereto. In some embodiments (such asmight be implemented in the systems shown above and described above withrespect thereto), the wireless protocols may be WLAN and Bluetooth (BT).The wireless protocols may alternatively be other wireless protocols, ifdesired. The method elements may be modified, performed in a differentorder, removed, etc., as desired.

In 2302, a request may be received from first wireless protocolcircuitry to perform transmission or reception. The request may bereceived by arbitration or coexistence circuitry.

In 2304, priority information of the first wireless protocol circuitryand the second wireless protocol circuitry may be determined.

In 2306, current configuration information may be determined. Thecurrent configuration information may be, for example, the number ofantennas that are in use, the position of the switch(es) (if a switch isused), etc.

In 2308, the method may determine whether to allow the first wirelessprotocol circuitry to perform transmission or reception based on thepriority information of the first wireless protocol circuitry, thepriority information of the second wireless protocol circuitry, and/orcurrent configuration information.

More particularly, 2308 may be performed according to any of theembodiments described above.

Additionally, in 2310, the method may determine the position of one ormore switches used to share one or more antennas, similar to embodimentsdescribed above.

Additionally, in 2312, the method may determine how many chains shouldbe used in transmission or reception, similar to embodiments describedabove.

Some or all of 2302-2312 may be performed by arbitration logic orcoexistence circuitry of the wireless device.

Although the embodiments above have been described in considerabledetail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent tothose skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated.For example, while most embodiments are described with regard tocircuitry, they may be implemented via any appropriate means, includingintegrated circuits, programmable hardware elements, memories andprocessors, etc. It is intended that the following claims be interpretedto embrace all such variations and modifications.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for use in a wireless device, the systemcomprising: first wireless protocol circuitry, wherein the firstwireless protocol circuitry is configured to receive, transmit, andprocess first signals according to a first wireless protocol, whereinthe first wireless protocol circuitry is configured to generate arequest to perform a transmission or reception; second wireless protocolcircuitry, wherein the second wireless protocol circuitry is configuredto receive, transmit, and process second signals according to a secondwireless protocol, wherein the second wireless protocol circuitry isconfigured to generate a request to perform a transmission or reception;and coexistence circuitry coupled to the first wireless protocolcircuitry and the second wireless protocol circuitry; wherein thecoexistence circuitry is configured to: receive a request from the firstwireless protocol circuitry to perform transmission or reception;determine current priority information for the first wireless protocolcircuitry and the second wireless protocol circuitry in response to therequest; determine current state of the second wireless protocolcircuitry; determine whether to allow the first wireless protocolcircuitry to perform transmission or reception based on the currentpriority information of the first wireless protocol circuitry, thecurrent priority information of the second wireless protocol circuitry,and the current state of the second wireless protocol circuitry; andfirst circuitry, wherein the first circuitry is configured to determinewhether the first wireless protocol circuitry and the second wirelessprotocol circuitry are able to perform the transmission or receptionconcurrently, wherein if the concurrent transmission or reception ispossible, the first circuitry is configured to assign equal priority tothe first wireless protocol circuitry and the second wireless protocolcircuitry.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein if the first wirelessprotocol circuitry has a higher priority than the second wirelessprotocol circuitry, the coexistence circuitry is configured to allow thefirst wireless protocol circuitry to perform the transmission orreception.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein if the first wirelessprotocol circuitry has an equal priority to the second wireless protocolcircuitry, the coexistence circuitry is configured to allow the firstwireless protocol circuitry to perform the transmission or receptionconcurrently with a transmission or reception of the second wirelessprotocol circuitry.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the firstcircuitry is comprised in the coexistence circuitry.
 5. The system ofclaim 1, wherein said determining whether to allow the first wirelessprotocol circuitry to perform transmission or reception is based on acurrent configuration of the wireless device.
 6. The system of claim 5,wherein said determining whether to allow the first wireless protocolcircuitry to perform transmission or reception is based on a number ofantennas in use by the wireless device.
 7. The system of claim 1,wherein the coexistence circuitry determining whether to allow the firstwireless protocol circuitry to perform transmission or reception is alsobased on the priority information of scheduled or predicted activity ofthe second wireless protocol circuitry.
 8. The system of claim 1,further comprising: a gain element configured to receive the first andsecond signals, wherein the gain element is adjustable to amplify thereceived first and second signals by an adjustable amount, wherein thegain element is coupled to the first wireless protocol circuitry and thesecond wireless protocol circuitry.
 9. The system of claim 1, whereinthe coexistence circuitry is further configured to dynamically choosebetween using one or more shared or only unshared pathways for thetransmission or reception of the first wireless protocol circuitry. 10.A method for arbitrating between a first wireless protocol and a secondwireless protocol within a wireless device, comprising: receiving arequest from first wireless protocol circuitry to perform transmissionor reception, wherein the first wireless protocol circuitry isconfigured to receive, transmit, and process first signals according tothe first wireless protocol; determining current priority informationfor the first wireless protocol circuitry and second wireless protocolcircuitry in response to the request, wherein the second wirelessprotocol circuitry is configured to receive, transmit, and processsecond signals according to the second wireless protocol; determiningcurrent state of the second wireless protocol circuitry; determiningwhether to allow the first wireless protocol circuitry to performtransmission or reception based on the current priority information ofthe first wireless protocol circuitry, the current priority informationof the second wireless protocol circuitry, and the current state of thesecond wireless protocol circuitry; determining whether the firstwireless protocol circuitry and the second wireless protocol circuitryare able to perform the transmission or reception concurrently; andassigning equal priority to the first wireless protocol circuitry andthe second wireless protocol circuitry wherein if the concurrenttransmission or reception is possible, allowing concurrent transmissionor reception.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein said receiving, saiddetermining, said determining, and said determining is performed bycoexistence logic of the wireless device.
 12. The method of claim 10,wherein if the first wireless protocol circuitry has a higher prioritythan the second wireless protocol circuitry, the method comprisesallowing the first wireless protocol circuitry to perform thetransmission or reception.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein if thefirst wireless protocol circuitry has an equal priority to the secondwireless protocol circuitry, the method comprises allowing the firstwireless protocol circuitry to perform the transmission or receptionconcurrently with a transmission or reception of the second wirelessprotocol circuitry.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein said determiningwhether to allow the first wireless protocol circuitry to performtransmission or reception is based on configuration information of thewireless device.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the configurationinformation comprises a number of antennas in use by the wirelessdevice.
 16. The method of claim 10, wherein said determining whether toallow the first wireless protocol circuitry to perform transmission orreception is also based on the priority information of scheduled orpredicted activity of the second wireless protocol circuitry.
 17. Asystem for use in a wireless device, the system comprising: firstwireless protocol circuitry, wherein the first wireless protocolcircuitry is configured to receive, transmit, and process first signalsaccording to a first wireless protocol, wherein the first wirelessprotocol circuitry is configured to generate a request to perform atransmission or reception; second wireless protocol circuitry, whereinthe second wireless protocol circuitry is configured to receive,transmit, and process second signals according to a second wirelessprotocol, wherein the second wireless protocol circuitry is configuredto generate a request to perform a transmission or reception; and firstcircuitry configured to: receive a request from the first wirelessprotocol circuitry to perform transmission or reception; determinecurrent state of the second wireless protocol circuitry, wherein thecurrent state corresponds to whether the second wireless protocolcircuitry is transmitting or receiving; determine whether to allow thefirst wireless protocol circuitry to perform transmission or receptionbased on the current state of the second wireless protocol circuitry;and determine whether the first wireless protocol circuitry and thesecond wireless protocol circuitry are able to perform the transmissionor reception concurrently, wherein if the concurrent transmission orreception is possible, the first circuitry is configured to assign equalpriority to the first wireless protocol circuitry and the secondwireless protocol circuitry.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein thefirst circuitry is comprised in the first wireless protocol circuitryand/or the second wireless protocol circuitry.